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SENATE LEADERS TO PITCH TAX PLAN: The long-awaited plan to overhaul the state's tax system will debut Tuesday. Senate Republicans want to slash the personal income tax from the highest 7.75 percent rate to 4.5 percent over three years and drop the corporate income tax from 6.9 percent to 6 percent.

In a video previewing a 12:30 p.m. announcement, Senate leader Phil Berger called it a $1 billion tax cut -- the largest in state history. The question is how to pay for it and the details are less clear, but Berger said it will involved taxing a range of services from haircuts to auto mechanics. (More details below.)

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: Taxes won't take all the air from the N.C. General Assembly today. In committees, the governor's transportation plan gets a final hearing before going to the full House; a health committee considers a measure to limit what a doctor can do about sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and birth control without parental consent; and Senate lawmakers will consider (but not vote on) a proposal to allow armed guards in elementary schools who aren't necessarily law enforcement officers.

The controversial gun bill gets a third reading on the House floor and the Senate will consider a controversial state charter school bill similar to ALEC-sponsored legislation. (More on ALEC below.) Gov. Pat McCrory -- who promised to hold regular media availability -- will not take questions after the Council of State meeting at 9 a.m. today. It is normal practice but McCrory has shunned the media after the meetings just about every time since he took office. He lists no other public events on his calendar today.

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The party announced former Congressman J.C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma will keynote the governor's reception June 7. "J.C. is not only a visionary and a bold advocate for conservative principles, but he is also a man of great humility and integrity,” said state Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes in a statement.

The party announced a day earlier that Karl Rove would keynote the Saturday dinner banquet at the convention in Charlotte. More special guests are expected to be announced in coming days.

GOP uber-strategist and TV pundit Karl Rove will address the N.C. Republican Party convention in June.

The party announced Rove as the special gust at the Saturday banquet June 8 at the Westin in Charlotte. “He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy," said Robin Hayes, the state party chairman. "We are honored to have him as a guest in North Carolina and look forward to hearing him cast a vision for making our party stronger and better."

Rove is visiting one of the few bright spots for Republicaans in the 2012 election. Mitt Romney turned the state red again after President Barack Obama's  victory here in 2008, and Republicans won thegovernor's  officee, lieutenant governor's office and state legislature -- giving it complete control of the lawmaking process for the first time in a century.

OBAMA TO NAME MEL WATT AS HOUSING CHIEF: President Barack Obama intends to nominate Rep. Melvin Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator that oversees lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a White House official told the Associated Press.  The president was expected to name Watt, a 20-year veteran of the House, on Wednesday, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.

HOUSE, SENATE STILL APART ON TAX PLAN: Senate Republicans are expected to debut a comprehensive tax plan in coming days -- but don't expect the House to stand at their side. Rep. David Lewis, the lead House tax negotiator, said Tuesday they still haven't found complete agreement. "The two chambers are not yet on one accord," he said. Lewis said he's optimistic the two sides will still unify around a single plan. He wouldn't identify the sticking point but it is likely how to pay for the plan -- with the Senate wanting to tax dozens of new services and the House wanting a more modest approach.

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TILLIS SAYS LOBBYIST GIFT BAN WILL REMAIN INTACT: House Speaker Thom Tillis took to Twitter this week to declare Republican Robert Brawley's bill to lift the ban on lobbyists giving lawmakers gifts is dead. "Benny, does the fact that the bill is dead give you any idea?" @thomtillis wrote. The speaker's office confirmed the 10:10 p.m. Tuesday tweet was legit. Tillis addressed the response to Benjamin Ray, an operative at the N.C. Democratic Party pushing Tillis on the issue and tying it to his office's controversial past with lobbyists and the fact the bill came from one of his committee chairman.

MOTIVE FOR JAMIE HAHN'S STABBING TURNS TO CAMPAIGN MONEY: As the Triangle mourned slain political strategist Jamie Hahn on Wednesday, attention turned to whether the man who police say stabbed her had made questionable campaign finance reports while working for Hahn’s firm. More on the story below.

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McCRORY TO ANNOUNCE MEDICAID SYSTEM OVERHAUL: Gov. Pat McCrory rejected a Medicaid expansion earlier this year saying the system was broken and Wednesday morning he is expected to describe how he plans to fix it. The Republican has talked frequently about the rising costs of the healthcare system for select low-income and disabled residents and issued a video preview Tuesday saying he would create a "partnership" that will help keep costs low. Check Dome later today for more details from the 10 a.m. press conference.

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The N.C. Republican Party will see a complete leadership change at the top. GOP Vice-Chairman Wayne King announced Monday he would not seek re-election at the party's June convention. Chairman Robin Hayes previously announced he would step down.

“I am confident that the future is very bright for our party," King said in a statement. "Our new governor and our Republican majorities in the state House and state Senate are charting a new conservative vision for our state that will protect our freedoms, transform our economy and return our state to prosperity."

King recently joined Congressman Mark Meadows' office as a senior advisor. Gov. Pat McCrory is backing former Wake County GOP Chairman Claude Pope to lead the party. The list of candidates for vice-chairman is wide open. One announced candidate is former state Rep. Glen Bradley.

Jack Brosch, a Charlotte businessman who ran for Congress as a tea party candidate last year, calls himself a "New Republican" in the mold of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. Now he wants to bring that outsider mentality to North Carolina's Republican Party.

Brosch hopes to get elected state chairman when the GOP meets for its state convention in Charlotte in June. He was prepared to challenge current Chairman Robin Hayes, before Hayes announced he wouldn't run.

Now he expects to face Claude Pope, a former chair of the Wake County GOP and cousin of conservative financier, and now state budget director, Art Pope. Claude Pope's campaign manager is a former executive director of the state party. His spokesman is Gov. Pat McCrory's nephew.

To Brosch, who lost to 12th District Democrat Mel Watt last fall, the choice is clear. "These things add up to kind of an establishment candidate," he says.

Says Pope: "I see myself very much as an outsider." If elected, he says he would pull together tea party and other conservatives. "We want to work with all of those organizations to put together the kind of ground work it takes to build a majority," he said. --Jim Morrill, Observer staff writer

UPDATED 3 p.m.:The fallout continues after the arrest of a sweepstakes company owner who played big in North Carolina political circles.

The N.C. House Democratic caucus announced Thursday its members would donate an amount equal to the campaign contributions they received from Chase Burns, the owner of International Internet Technologies, to various veteran charities.

State campaign finance records show at least five House Democratic members received a total of $8,000 from Burns in 2012 -- though the total number and amount is likely much more. Those who took contributions include: Reps. Rick Glazier, Susi Hamilton, Winkie Wilkins, Becky Carney and Joe Tolson. The caucus did not state the total donation amount, as it is still examining campaign finance records.

The move also puts pressure on Republicans to do the same. Republicans received far more money from Burns in 2012. The state GOP House and Senate caucuses accepted $55,000 combined from Burns, who also gave the $4,000 maximum to Gov. Pat McCrory. A party spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday morning. A McCrory spokeswoman said his campaign gave $4,000 to a Durham Rescue Mission.

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The voter ID talk continues today at 1 p.m. in a House committee after more than four hours of comments Tuesday about the topic -- but not an actual bill. (More on this below.) Other House committees will consider an immigration measure to restrict the use of Mexican consular documents and a bill to limit lottery advertising. The House convenes at 3 p.m. The Senate at 2 p.m. to take a final vote on the Charlotte aiport authority. A Senate committee will consider UNC Board of Governors nominations at a 4 p.m. meeting. Gov. Pat McCrory lists no public events on his schedule.

McCRORY JOB RATING HOLDS STEADY: The Republican governor's approval rating stabalized in the latest Public Policy Polling survey after a month in which his negatives spiked. The March poll from the Democratic firm put McCrory's approval rating at 49 percent with 35 percent disapproving. Another 16 percent remain unsure. Pollster Tom Jensen previewed the numbers Tuesday on News14's Capital Tonight program with Tim Boynum. Check Dome for more when the full poll is released later Wednesday.

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